"Teaching Boys and Girls Separately"
Elizabeth Weil
1) "Leonard Sax represents the essential-difference view, arguing that boys and girls should be educated separately for reasons of biology: for example, Sax asserts that boys don't hear as well as girls, which means that an instructor needs to speak louder in order for the boys in the room to hear her; and that boys' visual systems are better at seeing action, while girls are better at seeing the nuance of color and texture."
-I thought this was a pretty interesting and cool fact because I never knew that boys didn't hear as well as girls and that boys and girls visual systems were different as well. I guess these differences would have an impact on learning, but really how big, and how hard is it to appease both genders? I don't think schools need to completely separate gender in their classes because of hearing and seeing differences, just have the teachers speak up all together and try to use visual aids and exercises that reach out to both boys and girls.
2) "Yet Denckla doesn't see any need for single sex public education; she thinks mixed grade K-1, 1-2, and 2-3 classrooms are a better way to deal with the developmental differences among school-age kids."
-I kind of agree with this statement because both boys and girls struggle with different, but also sometimes similar things so teaching them separately really is not necessary since not every kid will fall under this biological stereotype. I think schools need to concentrate on what the students are struggling with specifically because every kid is different and special, no matter their gender differences. There are plenty of times that gender differences do not even effect or enhance students' learning.
3) "...Giedd says, is that when it comes to education, gender is a pretty crude tool for sorting minds...There are just too many exceptions to the rule."
-This goes along with the previous quote and I mainly agree because there are too many cases where these gender segregated classes actually did not do much better since it was separated. It is just too broad of a separation to apply to all children and their learning abilities. Every child learns differently because of who they are, not necessarily their gender. I'm not saying that gender has nothing to do with it, but I don't think it is an important enough aspect to split up classes over. The specific challenges that children are facing in the classrooms are what need to be narrowed in on in order to help them increase their learning abilities.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Talking Points 6
"A Particularly Cheap White Wine"
By: Tim Wise
1) "In truth, only 3.5 percent of college students of color receive any scholarships even partly based on race, suggesting that such programs remain a pathetically small piece of the financial aid picture in this country, irrespective of what a gaggle of reactionary white folks might believe."
-This just adds to the whole idea of white privilege and the culture of power because Wise is saying that even though scholarships that have anything to do with race are so small in number, yet whites are still trying to eliminate them. This shows that the ones in power want to stay in power and those without need to be stripped of even more power. It's a parallel idea to, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Just because all the other scholarships out there aren't specified as "white" based scholarships, who are they mostly targeted to/for?
2) "Fact is, there are plenty of scholarships for people who are left-handed, or kids whose parents sell Tupperware, or the children of horse-breeders, or descendents of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, among many thousands of such awards."
- Firs of all, why would you ever institute a scholarship for kids whose parents sell Tupperware? That has NOTHING to do with merit at all, but you don't see these people arguing such ridiculous scholarships as this. Anyway, this quote coincides with my previous quote perfectly because it answers the question of who are the recipients of all other scholarships. It goes along with the idea of the white privilege and those with power gaining more and keeping it from those without. None of these scholarships have anything to do with merit and more than likely they all are targeted to white students who do not need scholarships with titles that fit perfectly for them.
3) "...in truth, the standard is simple, straight-forward and singular: persons belonging to groups that have been systematically marginalized in this society, should have opportunities targeted to them so as to allow for the development of their full potential which other wise might be restricted by said marginalization."
-This quote followed perfectly behind my other two because it directly addresses the problem in this system of issuing scholarships and the irony of the opposer's complaints. There needs to be scholarships for students of color and race other than the majority's because they more than likely went through school with many difficulties and challenges that whites never had to face. White schools get better teachers, better programs, and better scores because of it, while predominantly black schools do not receive such a good education or advisement, leaving them severely behind white students in their academic abilities. Therefore, these scholarships targeted to those of color or different race are necessary and should be accepted because these students did not receive all the perks that the white students did and they need these scholarships because of the culture of power, white privilege, and disadvantages made by whites.
By: Tim Wise
1) "In truth, only 3.5 percent of college students of color receive any scholarships even partly based on race, suggesting that such programs remain a pathetically small piece of the financial aid picture in this country, irrespective of what a gaggle of reactionary white folks might believe."
-This just adds to the whole idea of white privilege and the culture of power because Wise is saying that even though scholarships that have anything to do with race are so small in number, yet whites are still trying to eliminate them. This shows that the ones in power want to stay in power and those without need to be stripped of even more power. It's a parallel idea to, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Just because all the other scholarships out there aren't specified as "white" based scholarships, who are they mostly targeted to/for?
2) "Fact is, there are plenty of scholarships for people who are left-handed, or kids whose parents sell Tupperware, or the children of horse-breeders, or descendents of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, among many thousands of such awards."
- Firs of all, why would you ever institute a scholarship for kids whose parents sell Tupperware? That has NOTHING to do with merit at all, but you don't see these people arguing such ridiculous scholarships as this. Anyway, this quote coincides with my previous quote perfectly because it answers the question of who are the recipients of all other scholarships. It goes along with the idea of the white privilege and those with power gaining more and keeping it from those without. None of these scholarships have anything to do with merit and more than likely they all are targeted to white students who do not need scholarships with titles that fit perfectly for them.
3) "...in truth, the standard is simple, straight-forward and singular: persons belonging to groups that have been systematically marginalized in this society, should have opportunities targeted to them so as to allow for the development of their full potential which other wise might be restricted by said marginalization."
-This quote followed perfectly behind my other two because it directly addresses the problem in this system of issuing scholarships and the irony of the opposer's complaints. There needs to be scholarships for students of color and race other than the majority's because they more than likely went through school with many difficulties and challenges that whites never had to face. White schools get better teachers, better programs, and better scores because of it, while predominantly black schools do not receive such a good education or advisement, leaving them severely behind white students in their academic abilities. Therefore, these scholarships targeted to those of color or different race are necessary and should be accepted because these students did not receive all the perks that the white students did and they need these scholarships because of the culture of power, white privilege, and disadvantages made by whites.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Talking Points 5
"In the Service of what?"
By: Kahne and Westheimer
Quotes/Comments:
1) "Service learning makes students active participants in service projects that aim to respond to the needs of the community while furthering the academic goals of the students."
- I agree, I think service learning is a really great thing for students to participate in because they can not only be helping a person, or a group, or the community as a whole, but they also learn more about real life situations within their communities. Both parties are able to learn from each other and I think that is the most important aspect of service learning. If you do not learn something new about someone or a group of people that you did not know before, they you did not fully achieve service learning. There are two parts: serving, and learning from it. Both aspects are important to be met and recognized.
2) "These curriculum theorists and education reformers wanted students to engage in service learning projects so that they would recognize that their academic abilities and collective commitments could help them respond in meaningful ways to a variety of social concerns."
-This quote expands what I was trying to get at with the previous one. With service learning, you need to have a response to either whom or what you are serving. In other words, you must gain something from those you served, whether it be recognition of an aspect of society you were unaware of, or just a personal lesson about life and how different it can be for others. It is really vital in service learning that both sides gain something out of it, but not just charity. They must also gain knowledge and life experience from their service learning project.
3) "Unfortunately, in many service activities, students view those they serve as clients rather than as a resource."
-This quote stood out to me because it opposes what I have been saying all along. It is very important that those performing service learning not only gain the satisfaction of charity, but also recognize that those they are serving can teach them something about life that they did not already know. They are getting a secret look into the lives of people who may be very different from them, and instead of just helping them, they need to learn from them as well. Service learning is a two way street, where both parties must gain from the other, in more ways than one.
By: Kahne and Westheimer
Quotes/Comments:
1) "Service learning makes students active participants in service projects that aim to respond to the needs of the community while furthering the academic goals of the students."
- I agree, I think service learning is a really great thing for students to participate in because they can not only be helping a person, or a group, or the community as a whole, but they also learn more about real life situations within their communities. Both parties are able to learn from each other and I think that is the most important aspect of service learning. If you do not learn something new about someone or a group of people that you did not know before, they you did not fully achieve service learning. There are two parts: serving, and learning from it. Both aspects are important to be met and recognized.
2) "These curriculum theorists and education reformers wanted students to engage in service learning projects so that they would recognize that their academic abilities and collective commitments could help them respond in meaningful ways to a variety of social concerns."
-This quote expands what I was trying to get at with the previous one. With service learning, you need to have a response to either whom or what you are serving. In other words, you must gain something from those you served, whether it be recognition of an aspect of society you were unaware of, or just a personal lesson about life and how different it can be for others. It is really vital in service learning that both sides gain something out of it, but not just charity. They must also gain knowledge and life experience from their service learning project.
3) "Unfortunately, in many service activities, students view those they serve as clients rather than as a resource."
-This quote stood out to me because it opposes what I have been saying all along. It is very important that those performing service learning not only gain the satisfaction of charity, but also recognize that those they are serving can teach them something about life that they did not already know. They are getting a secret look into the lives of people who may be very different from them, and instead of just helping them, they need to learn from them as well. Service learning is a two way street, where both parties must gain from the other, in more ways than one.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Talking Points 4
"Unlearning the Myths that Bing Us" Kayla Brown
By: Linda Christensen
Quotes/Comments:
1) "Then students start to notice patterns - like the absence of female characters in many of the older cartoons. When women do appear they look like Jessica Rabbit or Playboy centerfolds- even in many of the new and 'improved' children's movies."
- This quote interested me because I hadn't really thought about it before, but it is very true and it is misleading to little girls and boys who watch these cartoons. It gives the idea that boys should like girls that look this certain way and that girls should look this way because it is what they are being exposed to on television. It is kind of scary to think that this is where we get some of our preconceived ideas about the way things are supposed to be. I knew that media had a big role in influencing people, but I didn't really think about little kids seeing these stereotypes and then understanding them to be true to life. It is disheartening and frustrating to see that little kids are being taught such negative things at such a young age through the thought to be harmless cartoons they watch.
2) "Both of these tales leave young women with two myths: Happiness means getting a man, and transformation from wretched conditions can be achieved through consumption- in their case, through new clothes and a new hair style."
-This quote is taken the from the part of the text where Christensen is talking about having not only a white cinderella, but an African American one too; yet the same basic ideas and goals of the characters remain the same. As a female who grew up on disney movies and disney princesses, it kind of came as a surprise to me when I realized that Christensen was right; all the disney movies that I loved and watched repeatedly as a child all told the same story: if you are young and pretty you will get the guy and that is all that you need in life to be happy. I now see how this idea is so deeply, yet subtly inserted in all these disney princess movies and it irks me to think that little girls are being taught such narrow ideas about how to achieve happiness. The standards of beauty that these movies set up are high and uneasily met by many viewers, not because of their lack of beauty, but because of the ridiculous standards set. This really bothered me because a lot of little girls unknowingly look to these movies as reality and if they try to live within such a vain and unrealistic world, they are likely to feel more hurt than happiness.
3) "They accept the inequalities in power and exploitative economic relationships. Their acceptance teaches me how deep the roots of these myths are planted and how much some students, in the absence of visions for a better world, need to believe in the fairy tale magic that will transform their lives- whether it's a rich man or winning the lottery."
-I thought this quote showed how deeply rooted within us these ideas become and that they literally transform our views of the world and what are goals in life should be. This is pretty serious and I think that because of these ideas children get from the media and movies is the reason so many people today have self esteem issues and so on. I think if more parents became aware of the messages these movies are sending to their children, they would more closely monitor what their kids watch.
By: Linda Christensen
Quotes/Comments:
1) "Then students start to notice patterns - like the absence of female characters in many of the older cartoons. When women do appear they look like Jessica Rabbit or Playboy centerfolds- even in many of the new and 'improved' children's movies."
- This quote interested me because I hadn't really thought about it before, but it is very true and it is misleading to little girls and boys who watch these cartoons. It gives the idea that boys should like girls that look this certain way and that girls should look this way because it is what they are being exposed to on television. It is kind of scary to think that this is where we get some of our preconceived ideas about the way things are supposed to be. I knew that media had a big role in influencing people, but I didn't really think about little kids seeing these stereotypes and then understanding them to be true to life. It is disheartening and frustrating to see that little kids are being taught such negative things at such a young age through the thought to be harmless cartoons they watch.
2) "Both of these tales leave young women with two myths: Happiness means getting a man, and transformation from wretched conditions can be achieved through consumption- in their case, through new clothes and a new hair style."
-This quote is taken the from the part of the text where Christensen is talking about having not only a white cinderella, but an African American one too; yet the same basic ideas and goals of the characters remain the same. As a female who grew up on disney movies and disney princesses, it kind of came as a surprise to me when I realized that Christensen was right; all the disney movies that I loved and watched repeatedly as a child all told the same story: if you are young and pretty you will get the guy and that is all that you need in life to be happy. I now see how this idea is so deeply, yet subtly inserted in all these disney princess movies and it irks me to think that little girls are being taught such narrow ideas about how to achieve happiness. The standards of beauty that these movies set up are high and uneasily met by many viewers, not because of their lack of beauty, but because of the ridiculous standards set. This really bothered me because a lot of little girls unknowingly look to these movies as reality and if they try to live within such a vain and unrealistic world, they are likely to feel more hurt than happiness.
3) "They accept the inequalities in power and exploitative economic relationships. Their acceptance teaches me how deep the roots of these myths are planted and how much some students, in the absence of visions for a better world, need to believe in the fairy tale magic that will transform their lives- whether it's a rich man or winning the lottery."
-I thought this quote showed how deeply rooted within us these ideas become and that they literally transform our views of the world and what are goals in life should be. This is pretty serious and I think that because of these ideas children get from the media and movies is the reason so many people today have self esteem issues and so on. I think if more parents became aware of the messages these movies are sending to their children, they would more closely monitor what their kids watch.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Talking Points 3
"Gayness, Multicultural Education and Community"
By Dennis Carlson
Quotes:
1) "Within normalizing communities, some individuals and subject positions (i.e., white, middle class, male, heterosexual, etc.) get privileged and represented as "normal" while other individuals and subject positions (i.e., black, working class, female, homosexual, etc.) are disempowered and represented as deivant, sick, neurotic, criminal, lazy, lacking in intelligence, and in other ways "abnormal."
- This quote bothered me so much I cannot even describe with words how angry it made me. The people that populate this country are simply ignorant and ruthless if they think someone is neurotic or sick just because they are homosexual or black. I hate how disgustingly true this quote holds to be and it makes me lose all hope that this world will ever get better in accepting everyone. To label someone as "lacking intelligence" just because they are gay or female is absolutely absurd and to think that being a woman makes me "lazy" or "criminal" boggles my mind. Yet, there are people out there who believe this crap and it just infuriates me.
2) "...analysis needs to proceed through an account of the specific techniques and apparatuses of power that have been employed in the school to keep gayness 'in its place' as an invisible presence."
-This quote really made me mad because it is saying that schools feel it is important to keep gayness to a minimum and hide it as much as possible. Why? What is so important about a person's sexuality that an entire schools system would try to keep it concealed and out of public eye? It just really gets to me that a school would really try to cover up something that really should not make a difference. So much for this being a free country.
3)"Throughout this century, one of the primary means of ensuring that gayness was an invisible presence in the school was through the dismissal of teachers who were found out to be homosexuals."
-This quote was the bottom line for me. I cannot believe that some schools will actually go to the extreme of letting go a teacher just because they found out he/she was gay. That is just ridiculously stupid and immoral that a school would actually do such a thing just to keep gayness hidden from their students. Well folks, just because you're trying to hide it does not make it go away. After I read this part of the article I was too frustrated to continue reading.
By Dennis Carlson
Quotes:
1) "Within normalizing communities, some individuals and subject positions (i.e., white, middle class, male, heterosexual, etc.) get privileged and represented as "normal" while other individuals and subject positions (i.e., black, working class, female, homosexual, etc.) are disempowered and represented as deivant, sick, neurotic, criminal, lazy, lacking in intelligence, and in other ways "abnormal."
- This quote bothered me so much I cannot even describe with words how angry it made me. The people that populate this country are simply ignorant and ruthless if they think someone is neurotic or sick just because they are homosexual or black. I hate how disgustingly true this quote holds to be and it makes me lose all hope that this world will ever get better in accepting everyone. To label someone as "lacking intelligence" just because they are gay or female is absolutely absurd and to think that being a woman makes me "lazy" or "criminal" boggles my mind. Yet, there are people out there who believe this crap and it just infuriates me.
2) "...analysis needs to proceed through an account of the specific techniques and apparatuses of power that have been employed in the school to keep gayness 'in its place' as an invisible presence."
-This quote really made me mad because it is saying that schools feel it is important to keep gayness to a minimum and hide it as much as possible. Why? What is so important about a person's sexuality that an entire schools system would try to keep it concealed and out of public eye? It just really gets to me that a school would really try to cover up something that really should not make a difference. So much for this being a free country.
3)"Throughout this century, one of the primary means of ensuring that gayness was an invisible presence in the school was through the dismissal of teachers who were found out to be homosexuals."
-This quote was the bottom line for me. I cannot believe that some schools will actually go to the extreme of letting go a teacher just because they found out he/she was gay. That is just ridiculously stupid and immoral that a school would actually do such a thing just to keep gayness hidden from their students. Well folks, just because you're trying to hide it does not make it go away. After I read this part of the article I was too frustrated to continue reading.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)